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Schlagwort-Archive: Blush

Hello and welcome back to my Music Diary – today for the 29th November!

Back in 2007 I attended my first concert in France – Woven Hand performed in Paris at the Divan Du Monde. It was such a wonderful live experience and we all were so happy that David Eugene Edwards brought his Concertina along for the two 16 Horsepower classics „Harm’s Way“ and „American Wheeze„. And this night I heard one of the best live versions of „Your Russia„.

Check out my review, setlist pictures and videos of that show right here (and scroll down to the date 29/11/2007)!

In 2003 I attended a very special show: The Belgian dance company Ultima Vez performed „Blush“ which featured the music of Woven Hand in Vienna at the Volkstheater. It was very interesting to see the interaction between the modern dancers and the band playing live on the same stage.

After my very first Jethro Tull live experience in October 1989, which was one of the most impressive things of my life, my favorite band played very close to my hometown in the beautiful city of Salzburg. As I have heard that Ian Anderson and his group will play at the Kapitelplatz behind the wonderful dome, I was thrilled. But unfortunately they changed the place and we had to walk into the Eishalle, which is the place for ice hockey in winter.

Before the show we were just walking around through the Volksgarten area – a nice park behind this hall. As we killed time I saw Ian Anderson doing an interview. I waited until he finished it and then I worked up the courage to ask him: „Would you mind taking a picture of you?“ „No, not at all“ was his very polite answer and so I took two pictures, just to be sure that at least one is okay. „Oh, two!“, he said and then I asked for another one with me. After he said „No problem“ my girlfriend took one 😉

Then we entered the hall and I bought myself a „Thick as a Brick“ shirt and a cap. While standing in the second row and waiting for the show, bass player Dave Pegg passed by. I called; „Hey Dave!“ and in his typically and funny way he greeted back.

With the intro of „Cross-eyed Mary“ Ian Anderson was brought in a wheel chair to the microphone – a sort of „Too old to Rock’n’Roll: Too young to die!“ joke. So he immediately stood up for his vocal parts and began to sang.

The setlist was a very good section from Tull classics, old tunes and rarities like the wonderful „Jack-A-Lynn“ or the fantastic version of „Fat Man„. Unfortunately they didn’t play any song from the upcoming album „Catfish Rising„, which was scheduled for release just two months later in September 1991.

During the „25th Anniversary“ tour Jethro Tull played after Vienna (30th June at the Arena) and Wiesen another show in Austria – this time in Wels, which is from the mentioned three the nearest place to my hometown. And it was an indoor performance at the Stadthalle.

It was almost the same show as in Vienna – but two things were different: Firstly, at the end of „Too old to Rock’n’Roll: Too young to die!“ Ian Anderson was saluting for a few seconds to the balcony – me and my friends had no idea what’s behind this gesture. And secondly, this time I was the lucky guy who cought the Polaroid picture taken by Martin Barre 😉

The Setlist:
My Sunday Feeling
For a Thousand Mothers
Living in the Past
Bourée
So much Trouble
With you there to help me
Steal
Black Sunday
Sossity: You’re a Woman/Reasons for Waiting
Songs from the Wood/Too old to Rock’N’Roll/Heavy Horses (Medley)
Later that same Evening (Instrumental)
Life is a long Song
Thick as a Brick
Andy Giddings‘ Parrot
Budapest
A new Day Yesterday
Passion Jig/Seal Driver (Instrumental)
Farm on the Freeway
Aqualung
Locomotive Breath
Cross-Eyed Mary
Dharma for One

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02/07/2010:
JETHRO TULL – Vienna (Arena – Open Air)

Before the show and while the support act Colosseum did the soundcheck I interviewed Jethro Tull drummer Doane Perry for the Austrian independent radio station B138! It was a very interesting and comprehensive talk in which Doane told me everything about his career, all his recordings he did all over the years and his lost luggage! And during the chat Ian Anderson came along and watched the scenery for a while 😉 You can stream/download it for free here!

The venue (at the Arena – an open air location in Vienna) was almost sold out and after Colosseum finished their set, Jethro Tull entered the stage with the classic „Nothing is easy„. Apart from two brandnew songs („Hare in the Wine Cup“ & „A Change of Horses„) one remarkable situation touched the hearts and souls of all longtime fans: Ian Anderson dedicated „Bourée“ to Michael Cermak, who passed away just two days before on the 30th June.

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JETHRO TULL: Locomotive Breath

The Setlist:
Nothing is easy
Beggar’s Farm
A new Day Yesterday
Pastime with good Company (King Henry’s Madrigal)
Thick as a Brick
Songs from the Wood
Bourée (dedicated to Michael Cermak)
Hare in the Wine Cup
A Change of Horses
Farm on the Freeway
The Whistler (Instrumental)
My God
Aqualung
Locomotive Breath/Teacher (Instrumental)

The setlist was full of surprises and brandnew songs from the upcoming masterpiece „The Laughing Stalk“ (which was released a few weeks later in September) were played. The wonderful „Glistening Black“ was the opener of the show. Shortly after that two more new tracks blew me away: „Long Horn“ and „King O King„. After the classic live tracks like „Winter Shaker„, „The Speaking Hands“ and „Tin Finger“ the new tunes „In the Temple“ and „Maize“ followed. During the encore break I was wondering if Wovenhand can be more louder than this – the answer is definitely YES! An asskicking „Kicking Bird“ and the killer track „As Wool“ were the last songs of the show. And when you close your eyes you had the feeling that you are attending a Heavy Metal show – so loud and intense was the sound that night!

After the gig a friend of mine said: „Wow, that sounded like 16 Horsepower meets Social Distortion!“. A very interesting quote and it’s the perfect description of this breathtaking performance – HOKA!

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WOVENHAND: Kicking Bird

The Setlist:
Glistening Black
The Beautiful Axe
Long Horn
King O King
The Speaking Hands
Winter Shaker
Sinking Hands
Kingdom of Ice
Tin Finger
A Holy Measure
In the Temple
His Rest
Maize
Kicking Bird
As Wool

Almost the whole concert was filmed by a friend of mine – you can watch the clips here!

The first time that I was able to see the Godfather of Punk: Mr. Eric Reed Boucher, better known as Jello Biafra! He and his band The Guantanamo School Of Medicine performed in an awesome way. Of course they played also some Dead Kennedys classics like „Holiday in Cambodia„, „California über alles“ or „Too drunk to fuck„. And of course Jello did a lot of speeches between the songs (many taken from the current release „The Audacity of Hype„) as you can see on the video listed below.

I’m not quite sure if this concert took place in 1991 or 1992. If anybody knows it – please drop me a line – thanks! Anyway – as a huge fan of origin Blues I was very looking forward to see Mr John Lee Hooker live in Vienna at the Arena (Open Air). Unfortunately the performance was not that long, but it was obvious, because this music legend was over 70 years old that time! With the Coast To Coast Blues Band John Lee celebrated the Blues at its best. And was a unforgettable moment of glory to hear his classic songs like „Boogie Chillen“ or „Boom Boom“ live.

First of all – I was not really that huge fan of Bruce Springsteen’s albums – some are really excellent (especially his solo albums like „The Ghost of Tom Joad„) and some just average because of this typically US producing, which sounds always very mainstream and radio friendly. A friend of mine is a producer and he told me that you CAN’T compare the studio recordings with the live performance. This is completely different and you will understand when you see The Boss live on stage.

So I headed with him and other friends to the Ernst-Happel-Stadium in Vienna. As we were very early to queue up we had the chance to get a very close place in front of the stage at the so called „Wave Breaker“ area. It was perfect and also obvious that I was very looking forward to see Bruce Springsteen with his E Street Band. So Nils Lofgren opened the show with a tribute to Austria and played the „Donauwalzer“ on the accordion – well, the first goose started to walk over my grave 😉

And when Bruce started to play and sing I understood immediately what my friend told me before – this guy is an outstanding performer. Or like Chris Eckman from the Walkabouts told me in an interview: „He is music, he breaths music!“. And that’s the point. The setlist was very well chosen and featured songs from the new release „Working on a Dream„, classics like „Cover me„, nice rarities („4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)“ – and first played on that tour!), covers („Proud Mary„) and a super awesome cover version of Tom Waits masterpiece „Jersey Girl„. And I was told that this track was never played before outside the USA so far! So thanks to the girl who was wearing a „Jersey Girl“ shirt during that show 😉

Another remarkable thing was the performance of Clarence Clemons, the long time saxophone player of the E Street Band. „The Big Man“ had serious problems with his knee that time so he had to sit most of the time during the shows. Sadly he suffered a stroke two years later and passed away on the 18th June 2011 – R.I.P.

After the show I bought myself two shirts and the tourbook as souvenirs of one ot the best concerts I have ever seen so far.

You were not there? Or you were there and you want to hear/watch it again? No problem at all – the full performance is here for you:

The Setlist:
Intro („Donauwalzer“)
Jackson Cage
Badlands
Cover Me
My Lucky Day
Outlaw Pete
Darlington County
Working On A Dream
Seeds
Johnny 99
Darkness On The Edge Of Town
Raise Your Hand
Growin Up
Rendezvous
Proud Mary
4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
Because The Night
Waiting On A Sunny Day
Promised Land
The River
Into The Fire
Lonesome Day
The Rising
Born To Run
Cadillac Ranch
Jersey Girl (Tom Waits Cover)
10th Avenue Freeze-Out
American Land
Bobby Jean
Dancing In The Dark
Twist And Shout

A wonderful performing by Jan Garbarek with his group in Munich at the Tollwood Festival. Eberhard Weber on bass, Rainer Brüninghaus on piano and Marilyn Mazur on percussion created a perfect classic/jazz sound carpet for Garbarek’s unique saxophone playing. There was magic in the air while this outstanding quartet filled the huge tent with such beautiful sounds as you can also hear on releases like „Rites“ or „Visible World„.

Two months after the first part of the Europe tour to support the new Woven Hand release „The Threshingfloor“, David Eugene Edwards and his band came over again for some more dates. So they played diffent countries like Israel, Austria and Slovakia. And just before the show in Vienna the awesome guys from „They Shoot Music“ recorded David Eugene Edwards doing some very nice acoustic solo stuff – here are the videos:

The location for the show was the Szene again – and it was really HOT in there! When the band entered the stage, David fetched his Banjola for the opening track „Sinking Hands„. Then with „The Threshingfloor“ and „Holy Measure“ two more new songs followed. Before he introduced us more tunes from the latest release the Joy Division cover „Heart And Soul“ gave me the creeps again. „Off the Cuff“ finished the regular set and anfter the encore break DEE returned with no shirt and so you had another chance to see his tattoos 😉

„Deerskin Doll“ and a fantastic and heavy played „Your Russia“ were the conclusion of that night. After the show we met the band again and before they left for the show next day in Slovakia I chatted with Jeff Linsenmaier about my Denver stay in December 2009. And when David came out of the Szene I said to him that the gig tomorrow will be another hot one. „Yeah, at 2 p.m. – that’s crazy“, was his answer. So in a few hours we will see them again but before that I tried to get some sleep to be ready for the drive.

The first time that I was in Slovakia – and me and my friend went by car with no aircondition so you can imagine that the trip was sweat inducing. When we arrived at the Pohoda Festival area (which is like an airport – a lot of concrete) we had a huge range of picking a parking lot. As we walked to the parc with all the stages it was obvious that this will be one of the hottest shows EVER. Woven Hand was billed for 2 p.m. and so we were not really surprised that only a handful of people showed up to see the band. The setlist was short but well chosen and David decided to play only one Banjola song – the rest were heavy rockers like „Winter Shaker„, „Heart and Soul„, „Tin Finger“ or „Your Russia„. To have an idea how hot the weather was – just check out the pictures below 😉

Another Woven Hand show in Vienna – and it was at the Szene again. It was hot and sticky inside and I didn’t was that close to that stage. So it was not that intense as normally and during the show I missed something – this kind of magic, which was at the last shows in 2005 so present (remembering the breathtaking shows in Salzburg, Vienna and Bonn). The performance was nevertheless an excellent one, but comparing with the three concerts I attended before, it was just average.Maybe it had something to do with the return of Mr. Pascal Humbert, who played with David in the outstanding formation 16 Horsepower. It could be that they were not well-practised for the sound but anyway: David Eugene Edwards, Ordy Garrison, Pascal Humbert and Peter van Laerhoven performed a lot of the latest Woven Hand release „Mosaic“ and unfortunatley they didn’t play „Down in yon Forest“ like the year before as an extended version which was over ten minutes long. As me and my friend decided to see them two more times on that tour (Budapest and Ebensee) I was quite sure that the other shows will be much better 😉

The fourth time that I was going to see Lambchop live in concert. This time in Ebensee at the Kino again and before the show I had the opportunity to do an interview with singer Kurt Wagner for the Austrian independent radio station B138. It was very funny and interesting to talk with him about the latest album „OH – Ohio„, the music industry in general and many other things like paintings or touring, while sitting on the stairs of the Kino. You can stream/download it for free here!

As I offered Mr. Wagner that I am a huge fan especially of the Lambchop album „What another Man spills“ I hoped for some songs („Life #2“ or „N.O.“ – two of my all time favorites) that night, but unfortunately they played many songs from all the othere LPs 😉 And with the Sisters of Mercy cover „This Corrosion“ Lambchop accomplished at least one of my desires – thanks!

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The Setlist:
The old Gold Shoe
The new Cobweb Summer
Sharing a Gibson with Martin Luther King Jr.
Grumpus
Buttons
What else could be
Slipped, dissolved and loosed
Unknown Song #1 (maybe you can help?)
Nashville Parent
National Talk like a Pirate Day
Six o’Clock News
All Smiles and Mariachi
Is a Woman
Up with the People
Give it (X-Press Cover)
This Corrosion (Sisters Of Mercy Cover)
Unknown Song #2 (maybe you can help?)

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10/07/2010:DIRTMUSIC/TAMIKREST – Ebensee (Kino)

Chris Eckman, Hugo Race and Chris Brokaw founded Dirtmusic a few years ago. And with the African band Tamikrest they recorded the fantastic album „BKO“ (named after the airport Bamako in Mali). So the performance was a sort of a jamsession. First Dirtmusic played three songs before clearing the way for Tamikrest. The Tuareg rockgroup introduced us four songs before Dirtmusic came back and the real jam seesion began. It was a sort of „Worldmusic meets Indierock“ – a mixture which blew everybody away!

After the Vienna show the day before we took the train for Budapest to see Woven Hand again. This time on a boat called „A38“ which is on the Danube! When we arrived there Pascal Humbert crossed my way, pointed on my shirt (I wore a Slim Cessna’s Auto Club brown tee) and said: „Good band!“. I smiled back and we went to the boat and inspected the ship. To get into the concert hall you have to take the stairs downstairs so the stage was more or less under the water. And the temperature was very nice there – not too hot like the day before. I was quite sure that the show tonight would be much better – also the sound, because of the water outside which surrouned us. Also I do know that David has some friends in Budapest so it was obvoius that he was very looking forward to meet them again. The performance was much better than the oone the day before in Vienna. Very intense and tight – and it was really great to see Woven Hand playing with a bass man again 😉

The setlist was more or less the same, BUT David came back for a second encore! He performed solo the 16 Horsepower songs „Black Soul Choir“ and „Outlaw Song“ which left me speechless.

The legendary Rolling Stones stopped during their „Bigger Bang Worldtour“ in Vienna at the Ernst Happel Stadium again. Due to Keith Richards‘ coconut accident the show was postponed to that day. And for my second Stones live experience I had a perfect place at the so called „Wavebreaker“. Before Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Ronnie Wood and Darryl Jones started the show the rain stopped and the sky was unbelievable coloured in all kind of orange! A video clip startet and all of a sudden I had the creeps everywhere! Then „Jumping Jack Flash“ opened the performance in a perfect way. Beside all the classics and the some new songs from the latest release I was very happy to hear „She’s so cold“ from the album „Emotional Rescue“ – what a wonderful suprise! And when the band rolled on a B stage through the crowd everybody went nuts! I never was so close to Keith Richards – just a few meters!

Nice compilation of the „Bigger Bang“ Tour:

The Setlist:
Jumping Jack Flash
It’s only Rock’n’Roll
Oh no, not you again
Let’s spend the Night Together
Rain fall down
She’s so cold
Streets of Love
As Tears go by
Tumbling Dice
Night Time is the right Time
This Place is empty
Before they make me run
Miss you (To B-Stage)
Rough Justice
Start me up
Honky Tonk Women (Back to Main-Stage)
Sympathy for the Devil
Paint it Black
Brown Sugar
You can’t always get what you want (Encore)
(I can’t get no) Satisfaction (Encore)

And here are some reviews taken from several Austrian newspapers – just click on the pictures to enlarge them!

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14/07/2007:
BEASTS OF BOURBON – Ebensee (Kino)

I was very surprised when I see a sign at the Kino in Ebensee to see the Beasts of Bourbon saying „Sold Out“! But luckily a friend of mine had one ticket left so I had finally the chance to see these Australian Indie-Heroes live on stage the very first time. It was packed and hot inside but the show was nevertheless a very good one. Most songs of the setlist that night were taken from the current release „Little Animals“ – an awesome album with a killer opener „I don’t care about Nothing anymore“. After the show I bought some CDs and a shirt with the cool bandlogo on it 😉

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15/07/2000:ANDREAS VOLLENWEIDER – Munich (Tollwood Festival)

I really can’t remember this show anymore – and no, I was not drunken 😉 A friend of mine gave me his ticket for the show as a gift and so I took the chance to see the master of the harp live in concert. Andreas Vollenweider from Switzerland served us a beautiful mixture of Jazz, Classic and World Music. More infos about this show and the whole tour you can find here!

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18/07/2009:PATTI SMITH – Wels (Schlachthof – Open Air)

All over the years I missed the chances to see Patti Smith live in concert. But this time it happened! Me and my friend headed to the Open Air gig in Wels at the Schl8hof. Beside from a very noise crowd and a lightly sick Patti (she had a cold and so some problems with her voice that night) the performance was an excellent one. The Setlist picked with all classics, poems and also some covers (as you can see listed below).

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The Setlist:
Redondo Beach
My blakean Year
Are you experienced (Jimi Hendrix Cover)
Free Money
Ghost Dance
Beneath the Southern Cross
Pissing in a River
Dancing Barefoot
Peacable Kingdom/People have the Power
Because the Night
People have the Power
Horses/Gloria
Wing
Babelogue/Rock’n’Roll Nigger

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20/07/2003:WOVEN HAND – Vienna (Flex)

This was the third time for me to see David Eugene Edwards performing with Woven Hand. And two days later another performance followed – and a very special one because he shared the stage then with the dance company Ultima Vez to perform „Blush„. And it was obvious that some dancers from the ensemble were also at the Flex that night, because „Blush“ was billed for a serie of three nights at the Volkstheater.

Well, back to this show: The line up of Woven Hand that time consisted of David Eugene Edwards, Daniel McMahon, Ordy Garrison and Shane Trost (who joined Slim Cessna’s Auto Club later in 2009). And the setlist was a cross section of the self titled debut album and the „Blush“ release. As a suprise „Black Soul Choir“ was also played. And it’s a funny thing when you compare the sounding, when Woven Hand started to it nowadays – it is like you hear two completely differant bands. But it’s also interesting to see how the live sound changed over one decade now – from soft and beautiful to really loud and hard. Like a folk musician who modified to a heavy metal rocker 😉

First of all – I am not really into modern dance so I had my doubts about this very special performing by the Belgian dance company Ultima Vez, but I was also very curious about this performance while my favorite band Woven Hand accompany the dance scenerie with music. Me and my friends had very good seats at the beautiful Volkstheater in Vienna – we sat in the middle of the fourth row. So it was simply perfect to watch and listen. I have to admit that the dance performances were breathtaking. And by using huge video walls for some clips the scenerie was very impressing. While the dancers did unbelievable things, Woven Hand played not only songs – they also did a kind of soundtrack thing between the tracks.

My very first Tom Waits experience happened in Paris on the 24th July of 2008. I was pretty nervous, because HE was and still is one of my most admired musicians ever. A MASTER and GENIUS without any doubts. As a big fan all over the last years I was really looking forward to see HIM live on stage.

As we arrived at the wonderful location “Le Grand Rex” some very long queues were at the entrances. But we have already our tickets, so we didn’t have to queue and so we entered this wonderful building – an old cinema which has a capacity of approximately 2.500 people. After checking the merchandising (I bought one T-Shirt, the small tourbook “True Confessions” in which Tom Waits interviews himself and a concert poster) and one beer we head to our seats. And what can I say – I found myself in the SECOND ROW in the middle – almost directly in front of the stage! I really didn’t believe my eyes. So I sat there with always the same thoughts: “Is this true? Am I really going to see Tom Waits live? Is it me who is sitting here?”

Then the lights went out and the master entered with his band the stage! The crowd went crazy and Mr. Tom Waits greeted the audience.

He opened the concert with “Lucinda” and “Ain’t going down to the Well”. My eyes started to become wet and it gave me the creeps! Now it was REAL – I was seeing Tom Waits live! I was in Heaven! Then the classic “Rain Dogs” followed and it was surprising how the song sounded! Tom and his amazing band created new arrangements – and this not only for “Rain Dogs”! Almost EVERY track of the show was completely rebuild and so the compositions sounded fresh and wonderful! “Falling down” was the next one – and Mr. Tom Waits showed us all the colours of his UNBELIEVABLE voice! “All the World is Green” and “I’ll shoot the Moon” caught the audience.

Then Tom Waits spoke the first time with us this night: “This is a song about family reunion. The trouble with family reunions – in my opinion – there are too many of them. And they go on too long. And there’s always people there that I know and I don’t want to see again. There’s Bob – don’t look! There’s Steve – really don’t look! There’s Pierre – don’t look, don’t look, don’t look! There’s Franklin – don’t even, just walk the other way!” And then “Cemetery Polka” was played! After the breaks in that song (before the lyrics go on with “Auntie Mame” and “Uncle Phil”), Tom shouted “Boom! Boom! Boom! Sorry!” for shocking the audience. The beautiful “Cold cold Ground” came next.

Tom introduced the following song: “I’ve got two eyes. One is stationary and the other one is removable – so this is a true story about my eyeball.” During “Eyeball Kid” (also with completely new arrangements) Mr. Waits set up a special hat with mirrors – so the lights shined on him and the rays of the light lighten up the Grand Rex.

After that Tom Waits went to the piano and gave us some stories and more classics of his huge and fantastic song collection. “Okay, okay, okay”, said Tom and started with some of his “true tales”. And he spoke one sentence in French, which I really didn’t understand but the audience was very happy about this fine gesture and applauded immediately! One of his stories was about lemon: “You always get lemon with fish. And everybody thinks that this is good for the flavour. This is untrue! The idea was when people ate fish originally they were so afraid of the bones getting caught in their throat and maybe die of this. Somebody told them, if you put a little lemon in your mouth after you have a bite of fish it will kill the bone and it will disintegrate the bone. I had a mathematic professor and he had a piece of fish during a test we were having and he choked on a fish bone and he died in the middle of the mathematic test.”

After the first “history lesson” of the night, Tom played the wonderful “The Briar and the Rose” solo on the piano. Then another story was told by the master: “I didn’t know this. In Paris it’s against the law to wash your car by using an old underwear. It’s also against the law to give a monkey a cigarette. And you can’t get a fish drunk. Okay, let’s do some requests!” So, one person shouted some song requests. And Tom answered: “I said, let’s have SOME requests, not YOUR requests! You’ve got to pay more attention!” Another one shouted something and Tom said: “That’s my brother in law. You’re still working on the airport? I’m happy for you!”

So Tom carried solo on with “You can never hold back Spring” – just WONDERFUL! Then some lines of “Lucky Day” followed, but Mr. Waits aborted the track with the words “What the hell is this place on the piano!”. Meanwhile Seth Ford-Young accompanied on the Upright Bass for “Tom Traubert’s Blues”.

Another story followed: “On an aeroplane I was reading a magazine and there was this article saying ‘One out of every ten men are important’. I thought about this and then I realised that I switched the letters. It was not ‘important’, it was ‘impotent’.” So he continued his story with this: “Every time a male has a release, you know, A RELEASE – THAT kind of release. Every time that happens 250 million sperm are released. Now as we know only one of these sperm is going to fertilize that egg. So the thing is, before you even get here, you already a winner! That’s the way I see it.” Then he played the first tones of “Innocent when you dream” on the piano.

During the song, Tom said “Come, sing with me!” and the audience sang with the Master the refrain. “And it’s such a sad old feeling, the fields are soft and green. It’s memories that I’m stealing, but you’re innocent when you dream.” After that Tom returned to his small stage on the main stage and he began to sing “You’ve got to lie to me, Baby!”. And the audience cheered loudly between the breaks and after “I know you got yourself a skinny ol’ man, let me be your Baby, I know that I can” the microphone slided through the hand of Tom Waits and fell on the floor. But he didn’t get bothered about this at all. During the outstanding “Hoist that Rag” (it featured Tom Waits’ son Sullivan on Percussion!) the crowd went nuts once more!

And this time Patrick Warren on the keyboards, Omar Torrez on guitar and Vincent Henry on the woodwinds get enough space for their amazing solos. “Bottom of the World” was also fascinating and wonderful. Then “November” gave me the creeps again and “Hang down your Head” drove me to tears – not the very first time this night!

“Get behind the Mule” (from one of my personal favorite Tom Waits albums “Mule Variations”) hit me with full force. I really couldn’t believe my eyes and tears – words can’t describe the feelings I had by listening to this. But this was not the end of highlights! “Dirt in the Ground” (from another favourite album of mine – “Bone Machine”) with minimized arrangements blew me straight away – WHAT AN UNBELIEVABLE BEAUTY!

Then “Make it Rain” surprised with new arrangements and special confetti rained down, which fell during the song on Mr. Tom Waits!

He introduced the whole band (Vincent Henry on woodwinds, Casey Waits on drums and percussion, Omar Torrez on guitars, Patrick Warren from Paris/France on keyboards, Seth Ford-Young on bass, Sullivan Waits on the second clarinet in that song) and after that the second confetti rain fell on Tom!

Then he said good bye the first time tonight and disappeared from the stage with the band.

The audience cheered, shouted and went completely nuts! After a short encore break Tom returned with the band for an amazing “Chocolate Jesus” – yeah, this version (including the famous megaphone) tasted superb!

The audience cheered, shouted, clapped and howled for another encore, but Mr. Tom Waits stayed backstage. Well, this genius is already 59 years old and he has to be economical with his health and strength. And remember: This was the first show in Paris – the next followed the day after.

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The Setlist:
Lucinda/Ain’t going down to the Well
Rain Dogs
Falling down
All the World is Green
I’ll shoot the Moon
Cemetery Polka
Cold Cold Ground
Eyeball Kid
Way Down in the Hole
The Briar and the Rose
You can never hold back Spring
Lucky Day (aborted)
Tom Traubert’s Blues
Innocent when you dream
Lie to me
Hoist that Rag
Bottom of the World
November
Hang down your Head
Get behind the Mule
Dirt in the Ground
Make it Rain
Chocolate Jesus
Trampled Rose
Come on up to the House

By leaving the Grand Rex, we were all sooooooooooo happy and glad. But some questions came into our minds: How will be the show tomorrow night? Which setlist will be played? And in which shape will Mr. Tom Waits be? The answers are listed below 😉

As the day before, we took the tube very early to “Le Grand Rex”. And it was the same as 24 hours before: A lot of people were queuing in front of and beside the location. As we have already our tickets, we enjoyed some beers before the show in a restaurant vis à vis of the location.

After finishing our beers we went into the location and headed to our seats: This time we were at the balcony – third row. Perfect place again with a wonderful view. All instruments stood there like yesterday and we began to discuss about the setlist, because of other reviews of the concerts before, we knew already that he changes the setlist every night. So we were really excited to get our second portion of Tom Waits.

The begin of the show was the same as the day before: The crowd went crazy and stamped with their feet rhythmically, when Tom and his band entered the stage. Tom was really impressed, lift his hat and said in his best French: “Sacrebleu!”.

Then the show began:

The start was the same as yesterday (“Lucinda”, ”Ain’t going down to the Well”, ”Rain Dogs” and ”Falling down”).

But compared to the show the day before I had the feeling, that the band was a little bit in a better mood and also Tom Waits seemed (in my opinion) in a better shape. I think, he was more relaxed than yesterday and also his voice sounded slightly sharper and more powerful.

Nevertheless was the night before one of the best performances I’ve ever seen in my whole life!

Then the first change of the setlist happened: “The other Side of the World” (from the fantastic soundtrack “Night On Earth”) surprised us – wonderful arrangements, Omar Torrez’ fantastic guitar play and Tom’s voice gave me the creeps again.

“Lucky Day”, which was aborted yesterday night, followed. Words can’t hardly describe the feelings, when I heard this beauty in its full length! “Okay Baby, this one’s for you” opened another surprise: “God’s away on Business”. The crowd tried to clap in the right rhythm, but it didn’t work really, so Tom stopped the song after approximately 40 seconds: “You know, you guys never ever worked together before. Maybe there are three or four people who have a musical background. One sits there, the other over there. That’s enough for a quarrel maybe. So we start this song all over again. Then you feel like we’re further along in our relationship.” So they started “God’s away on Business” again – without crowd clapping this time (apart from some cheering after Vincent Henry’s solo and at the end of the song – but this time Tom shows how to clap correctly).

After that, Tom told us something about his eyeball again. “I take it out right now. I don’t do this often in front of people. This I do normally in the bathroom. And then he “threw” his eyeball through Le Grand Rex, “caught” it up again and simply played with it like it was – yes, just a ball. Then he said: “Oh, by the way, it bounces!”. When he feigned this, the band played some notes and then lead into “Eyeball Kid”. Also with the light effects like yesterday night.

„Jesus gonna be here” (from the fantastic “Bone Machine” album) was the next change of the setlist. Tom’s wonderful and powerful howling filled the venue and my eyes get wet again.

Then Mr. Tom Waits went to the piano, took his seat and told us some of his wonderful stories: “You know, I realised today, I really hate it when somebody says to me: ‘You know, my phone is also a camera’. I’m waiting for someone who says to me: ‘My glasses are also a tricycle’. Or: ‘My blender is also a pocket knife’.”

A story about a male spider followed: “He sticks out one of his legs. We assume, it’s a leg, that he’s sticking out. I’m not sure. Whatever it is, what he sticks out, he spins the web with it. And it makes a sound.” Then Tom played some keys on the piano and afterwards he said: “That’s not the actual sound, that’s my impression.” He continued the story with this: “The sound, this makes, it attracts the female spider. Up to a certain degree, she can’t resist. Even she is watching a soap opera, she has to stop! Right now – and find the web.” Then he started another one: “In one square mile of earth, there are more insects than there are people, that inhabit the entire earth. Do you know what I mean? One square mile, that many insects – Jesus Christ! I hope that they never get the vote.”

Then he started playing piano with the words: “B flat – my favourite!” – and “You never hold back Spring” filled the venue.

Another story was next:

“Last time I was in Paris, I went to a little pond in the afternoon. And I swam in the pond and I don’t read French. And it probably said ‘Whatever you do, but don’t swim in this pond’. I thought it was said ‘Welcome to Paris!’. About two months later when I was home I felt something in my stomach. It was so strange and I went to a doctor and he inspected me with an ultrasound. And they found out there was a spawn of frogs. And now I have three bullfrogs living in my stomach. The doctor said to me: ‘Hey, it’s your decision, you know. If you wanna keep it. Or if you wanna get rid of it, I know somebody.”

After the story time, the classic “Johnsburg, Illinois” was introduced with “This is for my wife”. For this wonderful song, he was accompanied by Seth-Ford Young on the Upright Bass.

“Tom Traubert’s Blues” and a unbelievable and wonderful version of “Innocent when you dream” (the crowd sang along the refrains like the night before) drove me to tears. Even now, while I’m typing this, the feelings are coming back and my eyes get wet again. Like yesterday, “Lie to me” was next – this time, the microphone didn’t fall on the ground and between the breaks the crowd cheered loudly again.

“Hoist that Rag” made the crowd wild again – and Tom’s son Sullivan played the percussions on this one. And it was an excellent decision to keep this song on the setlist, because it’s such a beauty and the solo performances of the band members fit perfectly in this track.

With “Poor Edward” a song from the album “Alice” was played. Thanks to this, I discovered this LP again! Oddly enough, I always forget about this one, when I pick one of my collection, when I’m in my Tom Waits mood.

The first seconds of “Black Market Baby” left us open–mouthed – another surprise and so we felt again like a child in a candy store.

“Dirt in the Ground” was already yesterday night unbelievable, but tonight it was out of this world. What a brilliant version again – words can’t describe this properly. The refrain was this: “You know, I know, we know – we all gonna be dirt in the ground.”

“Make it Rain” including two confetti rains and the band introduction closed the regular set (just like yesterday’s show).

During the encore break the crowd went really crazy and nuts. They cheered, howled, clapped, stamped and made such a noise – unbelievable. So Tom and the boys came back on stage and “Way down in the Hole” opened the encore. With the fantastic “Jockey full of Bourbon” they gave me that feeling back, which I had at least every five minutes during the two shows: Wet eyes and another goose was walking over my grave again.

And with “Anywhere I lay my Head” an amazing song was picked for the end of this unforgettable evening. “Merci beaucoup” and “Bonsoir“ were the last words from Mr. Tom Waits before he and the band left the stage.

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The Setlist:

Lucinda/Ain’t going down to the Well no more
Rain Dogs
Falling down
The other Side of the World
Lucky Day
God’s away on Business
Hold on
Eyeball Kid
Jesus gonna be here
You can never hold back Spring
Johnsburg, Illinois
Tom Traubert’s Blues
Innocent when you dream
Lie to me
Hoist that Rag
Heigh Ho
Lost at the Bottom of the World
Hang down your Head
Poor Edward
Black Market Baby
Dirt in the Ground
Make it Raink
Way down in the Hole
Jockey full of Bourbon
Anywhere I lay my Head

All in all we had to say that the second show was a little bit better. But really only a little bit. Anyway – both shows were one of the best performances I’ve ever seen in my entire life. And I’m really happy, glad and thankful, that I was so lucky to get the chance to see one of my most admired artists live on stage. I’ll NEVER forget these two nights.

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26/07/1992:JETHRO TULL – Finkenstein (Burgarenazelt)

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The Setlist:

Someday the Sun won’t shine for you
Living in the Past (Instrumental)
Rocks on the Road
Life is a long Song
Serenade to a Cuckoo
A new Day Yesterday/Kelpie
The Whistler (Instrumental)
Kissing Willie
A Christmas Song
Budapest
Pussy Willow (Instrumental)
Bourée
Doctor to my Disease
Too old to Rock’n’Roll: Too young to die!
Farm on the Freeway
My God/God rest ye merry Gentlemen
Aqualung
Locomotive Breath
Thick as a Brick
Cross-eyed Mary
Thick as a Brick (Reprise)

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26/07/1997:JETHRO TULL – Klam (Burg Clam)

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26/07/2008:
WOVEN HAND – Munich (Ampere)

We arrived at the location called “Ampere” (it’s beside the big one called “Muffathalle”) at 6.30. Nobody was there but we heard that the band was making the soundcheck. It was obvious that Woven Hand are at work, because of the wonderful drumming of Ordy. At 7 o’clock we saw the band eating and drinking in the beergarden, which was next to the Ampere. At 7.45 we entered the location and it was really a very nice surprise. A small club with a balcony. The stage was very small and when you stand in front of David (like me at this night) you are at eye-level. The crowd was very small and we hoped that this will change otherwise Woven Hand would play in front of approximately 50 people! But shortly before the show began more people found the way into the Ampere and so it was well crowded.

The night began with an explosive “Tin Finger” and between the song David did some very nice vocal improvisations. “Whistling Girl” follows – beautiful as always. So after these two songs – a heavy and a soft one – it was obvious that the sound was simply perfect for this night. Another vocal improvisations (“Horse Head Fiddle”) lead into the first new song of the evening: “The Beautiful Axe”! A wonderful track which makes real appetite for the upcoming “Ten Stones” album. When David played he suddenly stood up and played on on his red Gretsch Tennessee Red guitar! Then one of my personal all time favorites “The Speaking Hands” followed in a very powerful way. After that, it was time for another new song: “Kingdom of Ice”! Therefore David fetched his Banjola and the very intense track started. It was obvious that David loves to play the new songs. He was shaking his left foot and before the song ended he stood up – the second time of the evening! After that the Woven Hand classic “Dirty Blue” followed. As you can heard of the applause, this song is really loved by almost everybody. Following David changed the red Gretsch with the black one and another vocal improvisations lead to the next new song: “Iron Feather”! A wonderful beauty with some lyrics like “All these tears gathered together, down your cheek, your neck and feathers”. Nobody applauded afterwards, because of such a brandnew beauty – almost anybody was touched by this song. “Winter Shaker” broke the silence and Ordy showed again, how powerful a drummer can play! And David? Well, he stood the third time up during that song! Vocal improvisations (parts from „Slota Prow“) introduced „Elktooth“. After one minute a security guy tipped on my shoulder and said “Stop photographing!”. Well, so I stopped it, because I didn’t want to hear the rest of the show outside. Then „Deerskin Doll“ followed. During that song Ordy had some problems with one of his drum and so he had to fixed it again. But David didn’t stop to play. He just waited until Ordy was ready again and then they continued – what a wonderful version it was! I never heard it that way – AMAZING! After that, Pascal, Ordy and Peter left the stage and David played “Into the Piano” and “Chest of Drawers” solo. Beautiful and very intense! In my opinion one of highlights of the night. I enjoyed “Chest of Drawers” with closed eyes. The boys returned to close the show with a dynamic and heavy “Your Russia“. You could see that Ordy enjoyed the playing. He kicked the shit out of his drums! This guy is unbelievable! And the real fans knew that this will be the last song before the encore. After a short encore break, David entered the stage, fetched the banjola, thanked for coming to the show tonight and the 16 Horsepower classic “Black Soul Choir“ followed. After a few seconds David stood up again and sang approximately one meter far from the microphones. Another proof of his beautiful voice which is getting better and better form year to year! This version was very special, because of string and technical problems (drowning because of a cell phone) David interrupted the song three times. But he took it with humour and laughed a little bit. By the new beginning of the song he said “Voilà!”. Maybe he thought already about the upcoming gig in Clergoux the next day. Then Pascal, Ordy and Peter accompanied David for “Truly Golden” (wonderful as always!) and “White Bird”. So the show ended like it began – VERY POWERFUL AND HEAVY!!!

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After the show we met Peter, David and Ordy and talked a little bit with them. Then they had to leave – what a fantastic night!